Matteo (17 page)

Chapter 33

My legs shake a little bit as I step out onto the sunny sidewalk. I stop in the shade of a tree and lean my weight against its trunk. My heart flutters wildly and I feel sweat beading down the back of my neck.

Of all the fucking restaurants in this city, why is it that Matteo decided to take Tilly to the one where I was supposed to meet with a potential advertiser for the blog today?

She’s as cute as a button, that little girl, even though she was throwing an epic tantrum. And Matteo, he’s one hot
d.i.l.f
. I wanted so badly to go over and talk to them, but Matteo has made it clear that he wants nothing to do with me.

I spin around quickly when I hear ruckus erupt just outside of the restaurant behind me. And here comes Tilly, tearing down the sidewalk. The maître d’ and Matteo are hot on her heels but she runs straight up to me and wraps her tiny arms around my legs.

“Ellie! Ellie!” she shrieks.

“Hi little angel,” I say, unwrapping her grip on my legs and stooping so we’re eye-to-eye.

The maître d’ stands off at a distance as Matteo stomps over to us. “Tilly – how many times do I have to tell you not to run off?” His tone is harsh but he looks exhausted.

The little girl looks up at her father. “Daddy! Daddy! It’s your friend, Ellie!” She tugs on the leg of his dark jeans.

He lets out an exasperated sigh. “I’m really sorry about this, Ellie. She just ran off –“

I hold up my palm to him. He doesn’t have to explain. Tilly isn’t a nuisance in the slightest. In fact, I like her a whole lot and seeing her – and him – has been the best part of an otherwise shitty day. “I don’t mind at all,” I say to him as I stand up and straighten the hem of my dress. I glance down at Tilly, “But you really shouldn’t run off, even when you see a friend.”

She gives me a sad pout. “You don’t come to my house anymore.”

Matteo clears his throat before crouching down to scoop her up onto his hip. “Tilly – Ellie’s very busy. That’s why she can’t come over any more.”

Tilly’s pout only grows deeper. “Come to my house. Nooooowwwww!” she pleads and it breaks my heart.

Matt repeats himself. “Honey – Ellie’s busy. She can’t come.”

The little girl whimpers into her father’s collar. “Daddy! I want Ellie to come play with me!” She turns to me with puppy dog eyes. “Pleeeeaaaaaasssssseeee!”

“I’ll come if your daddy says it’s okay.” I hear the words tumble from my lips.

Matteo glances over at me. “You really don’t have to, Ellie…”

“I want to,” I say, my throat suddenly tight. I’d do anything to get back into Matteo’s good graces. To show him that I’m not the monster he thinks I am.

Tilly wiggles her way out of her father’s arms and then, she’s holding my hand. “Let’s go, Ellie,” she says simply. “Let’s go play at my house!”

Chapter 34

I rock Tilly gently and sing to her until her tiny body goes limp against my chest, her soft snores falling into the curve of my neck. Matteo tiptoes across the living room and gently lifts her out of my arms. His fingers graze my stomach as he reaches for her and it takes every ounce of my floundering self-control to resist the urge to tremble all over.

As he carries her down the hallway to her bedroom, I stand up to stretch my legs. I catch a glimpse of my cellphone charging on the coffee table. Shit – I can’t believe it’s already 7:45.

Shit! The afternoon flew by. I got so involved in playing with Tilly that I didn’t even call in to the office to make sure that everything was okay. I comb my fingers through my disheveled hair and reach for my purse. I need to get home.

“Hey.” Startled, I glance back and see Matteo enter the room.

“Hey,” I say, rising to my feet and smoothing down the wrinkled fabric of my dress.

He stands there and just looks at me and I feel heat creep up my neck.

God – I’ve missed this man.

“I – I should leave,” I stammer, struggling to fill the awkward silence.

“Yeah – yes, sure,” he says as he bends to scoop a rag doll off of the floor. He stands and takes a step closer to me. “Thanks for helping out with her today.”

I smile. “I didn’t mind at all,” I say in a small voice.

He scrubs his hand over his stubbly beard. I can see the fatigue in his eyes. “She’s been…
difficult
…lately. She’s still having a hard time adjusting to life without her mother and I don’t know what to do except spoil her rotten.”

“That’s probably normal,” I say. Being abandoned by your mother must be hard on a little girl.

Our eyes are glued to one another and for some reason I don’t quite understand, I find myself inching towards him. He’s doing the same.

He looks at me and there’s longing in his eyes, so close to the surface. And it’s as though every other detail in the room has melted away, leaving just me and him and the desire sweltering between us.

The power of his gaze is too strong, too searing. I have to close my eyes.

I feel tingles roll across my skin. He’s so tall. I feel tiny standing in his shadow, looking up into his face. And he’s standing close. Too close. I’m having a hard time breathing. The masculine scent of him is overwhelming to me. My body usually doesn’t react like this to a man. It’s his captivating brown eyes, his tempting sculpted jaw, his ripe lips.

Oh, I’m hit by an overwhelming urge to taste those lips.

His fingers leap to my neck and slide into my hair. He angles my face before his lips land softly on mine.

He kisses me slow. Like he wants to taste every bit of me. Like he would lick all the way to my soul if he could. His tongue steals into my mouth and sweeps against mine with suede strokes. I fist the front of his shirt and groan against his lips. His hands slide all over my body. I’m completely enveloped by his body, his force field, everything about him.

I don’t resist when his hands glide over my ass and hoist my legs around his waist. I let him carry me to his bedroom as the kiss grows in intensity. He locks the door behind him before setting me down in the center of the mattress. His mouth moves against my cheek, down the curve of my neck and then, it hungrily finds my lips again. Meanwhile, his hand slips under the hem of my dress and wastes no time pushing my panties aside. I kiss him with everything in me and my fingertips skim every ridge and groove of his chiseled body.

And my every kiss is an apology. My every touch is a plea. I pull on the silky strands of his hair and I’m begging him to forgive me.
Let’s put this all behind us
, that’s what my body is saying to his. His lips are vengefully rough against mine. The way his fingertips sink into my flesh is cruel. He has every right to exact punishment against me…I betrayed him.

And I want it to hurt. I deserve the pain. His fingers sink into my core again and again. He holds nothing back. He shows me no mercy. My every whimper is swallowed by his kiss, my groans muffled by his ravenous lips. My body jerks, it quivers. It succumbs to the pleasure and to the pain.

The orgasm absolutely devastates me. My whole world explodes into a deafening cacophony of colors and lights and sensations. His kisses are deafening. His touch blinds me. I’m drowning in the taste of him.

Nothing makes sense to my senses anymore.

I’m panting and flustered, slowly coming down from the high. He’s next to me, on his side, propped up on his elbow, gazing down into my face. His expression is one of pure frustration. He sighs harshly. “You’re magic, Ellie. Devastating and utterly irresistible.”

Chapter 35

She lies on her back, staring up at the ceiling. The light pouring in through the open windows illuminates her beautiful face in the dark. I slide my arm around her waist and pull her closer. I breathe her in. She smells like roses…and sex.

She presses her body into mine, turning her head slightly, causing her breaths to feather my neck.

“Y’know the first article I posted was about my father. He was cheating on his wife with an air hostess.” The sudden confession falls softly from her lips.

“
You
broke that story?” I say incredulously. I remember when the story surfaced. I remember Elias Parker’s PR team working hastily with our firm’s entertainment law department to bury it quickly.

Ellie swallows hard and nods. “His mistress – she was just a year older than me. I was so disgusted by him. So disgusted by the way the world seemed to think he was some sort of demi-god. Philanthropist. Business mogul. Family man. Meanwhile, he had a walk-in closet full of secrets. His wife protected them, either because she was dead-set on protecting the façade that he was a good man or because she was too doped up on prescription medication to care. Either way, I was always on the outside looking in. And I wanted to punish him and people like him for their duplicity.”

I chuckle bitterly. “This generation’s version of vigilante justice?” Gotta find a way to make light of the situation because taking it seriously burns at my chest. Makes me want to bolt out of this bed and never look back.

Her laugh comes out tight and strained then she falls silent for a while. “I just want you to understand that I never expected that my blog would
become
something. It started off as a way of getting back at my father. But then, I started getting traffic. People were sharing what I wrote. Advertisers came knocking…Success was right within reach. And then, I said to myself, ‘Look at me – I’m doing this. On my own. My father never gave two shits about me, but still, here I am, a goddamned success.’ It was addictive. The more salacious the story, the more people would read it and share it on social media and the more advertisers became interested in throwing money my way. I got lost in it all. I forgot that real people were getting hurt…That was until I saw the way you looked at me when you found out that I’m
Eloise Benoit
. That I’m the
New York Flame
.”

My chest tightens. This woman’s work has hurt the people closest to me. Still, I can’t just walk away. My heart won’t let me. “I don’t get it, Ellie. I mean – I get it…but I don’t
get it
.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you want to know someone – really know about them – why don’t you just ask? Why do you stalk them, sneak around, invade their privacy, send paparazzi to track them? You’re an incredibly intelligent woman, Ellie. You should be doing work you’re proud of. Work you want to stamp your name on.”

She spits a throaty laugh. “It’s not that simple.”

“What do you mean, ‘it’s not that simple’?”

“As if New York’s high society would just spill their deepest, darkest secrets to little old me if I merely
ask
them.”

“You’d be surprised.” I trace my finger across her collarbone.

She rises up onto her elbows, her face hovering inches above mine. “Okay. Let’s give it a try,” she challenges. “Tell me something no one knows about you.”

I pull in a deep breath, letting my chest expand and then fall. I gaze into those spellbinding gray eyes. “I’m in love with a woman I have no business being with, but
nothing
can keep me away from her.”

She gasps softly into the air.

And just to clear up any doubts she might have, I add. “You’re mine, Ellie…So, I’m not going anywhere. I won’t let you go.”

I hear her sniffle as she presses her lips against my throat. “I want to make a change, Matteo. I’m tired of lurking in the shadows…I want to stand in the sun.”